A Way Of Thinking, An Essential Tool

Science is much more than a body of knowledge.  It is a way of thinking.  This is central to its success.  Science invites us to let the facts in, even when they don’t conform to our preconceptions.  It counsels us to carry alternative hypotheses in our heads and see which ones best match the facts.  It urges on us a fine balance between no-holds-barred openness to new ideas, however heretical, and the most rigorous skeptical scrutiny of everything — new ideas and established wisdom.  We need wide appreciation of this kind of thinking.  It works.  It’s an essential tool for a democracy in an age of change.  Our task is not just to train more scientists but also to deepen public understanding of science.
—    Carl Sagan
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2018	Be My Hero – Vote Tomorrow!
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2017	Black And White
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2016	Mirror, Mirror
2015	Speaking With Forked Tongue
2014	The Code
2013	Eventually Formed
2012	Remember To Vote Tomorrow
2011	It Sounds Like Chaos Theory To Me

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Pass A Voting Rights Act For Democracy’s Sake

That a thing is true, is no reason that it should be said, but that it should be done.
—     Cardinal John Henry Newman
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2022	Pass A Voting Rights Act For Democracy’s Sake
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2020	The Burden Of Faith
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2019	Are Your Dogs Barking?
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2018	And 40+ Years Later?
2017	He Is Alone
2016	Compensation
2015	Charlie Redux
2014	The Crux
2013	Erosion And Rechannelling
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2012	How Many Thought… (One I Know Of)
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2011	Speed Spoils
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2010	A Second 4 Hour Jog

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My Fear Is She Loses This Bet

Conversations about democracy, technology and the economic dominance of surveillance capitalism are now inseparable.  Looking ahead to the year 2030, I put my bet on democracy because it’s the best idea humanity has ever had, despite all of its obvious imperfections.  When I wake up every morning, I’m thinking about what I can do to contribute to this so that our societies mobilize to double down on democracy.  This begins with saying out loud that the current state of affairs is intolerable.  As citizens, we begin by joining together in our communities, organizations, associations, political networks to demand an end to commercial surveillance.  Our lawmakers hear from the tech lobbyists every day.  They need to feel us at their backs instead.  We are poised at a new beginning, and not a moment too late.
—    Shoshana Zuboff
From her interview:  “Living up to the promises of the digital age“
Appearing in:  Time Magazine;  dtd:  1 / 8 February 2021
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On This Day In:
2021	My Fear Is She Loses This Bet
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2018	Dominoes II (Update From Last Year’s Post)
2017	Dominoes
2016	Itchin’
2015	In The Not So Distant Future
2014	Sources
2013	Three Essentials
2012	Just Looking
2011	Religious Lessons
2010	View From Under The Bus… (A mid-term report card on the Obama Administration. Long, but still worth reading for historical perspective.)

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The Question Is Courage

Personal autonomy and democracy are under assault from surveillance capitalism.  And yet today’s tech industry is largely unregulated, having emerged in the midst of an era of deregulation and defunding of enforcement agencies.  This has allowed tech giants to behave as unelected governments.  Their communications systems have become central to our way of life, as the impact of this week’s Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp outage underscores, but they have their thumb on the scale, amplifying content that triggers fear and outrage because doing so maximizes profits.
…
The sad truth is that the unregulated tech industry produces products that are unsafe.  Congress has faced the challenge of dangerous products in the past.  When the food and medicine industries were unsafe, Congress created the Food and Drug Administration.  When petrochemical companies dumped toxic waste indiscriminately, Congress approved a series of environmental laws.  Just like tech companies today, the affected industries claimed they would not be able to operate with regulation, but that turned out to be wrong.  Now we need something like an FDA for technology products, designed to prevent harmful technologies from coming to market.  For qualifying products, it would set safety standards, require annual safety audits and certification as a condition for every product, and impose huge financial penalties for any harms that result.  There should also be amendments to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act to create better incentives for Internet platforms.
Congress also needs to protect people’s privacy from relentless surveillance.  My preference would be for Congress to ban surveillance capitalism just as it banned child labor in 1938.  (The many industries that employed child labor complained then that they could not survive without it.)  At a minimum, Congress must ban third-party use of sensitive data, such as that related to health, location, financial transactions, web browsing and app data.
The third area for legislation is competition, where Congress needs to update antitrust laws for the 21st century.  The six-hour outage of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp illustrated for many one downside of monopoly:  absolute dependence on a service.
…
All of this may be true in Mark Zuckerberg’s mind, but the design of Facebook’s business model suggests that growth and profits are the only factors driving “the company we know.”
Based on the evidence of the past five years, one might say that Internet platforms have launched an attack against democracy and self-determination.  It is a battle they will win unless voters and policymakers join forces to reassert their power.  We have been losing the battle since 2016, but I would like to believe that this week was a turning point.
We have the power.  The question is whether we have the courage to use it.
—     Roger McNamee
From the article:  “Facebook Will Not Fix Itself“
Appearing in:  Time Magazine;  dtd:  25 Oct / 1 Nov 2021
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2018	#PresidentBoneSpur
2017	My Staggering Confusion
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2016	And Bloggers?
2015	Ethical Energy
2014	Are You Likely To Defend It?
2013	Might As Well
2012	The Long And Short Of It
2011	Bravery

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No Recall

Above is the image of my proof of vote for our upcoming election (on 14 September 2021), in the attempt to recall the Democratic Governor of California (Gavin Newsom).  My mail-in ballot has been received and counted.  I voted NO.
History has shown us a few rich Republicans can subvert the will of the Democratic majority in California by spending a few million dollars to fund a recall signature petition.  Republicans know they can’t win a statewide election during normal voting cycles because Democrats can gear up to inform the populace and then get out the vote.  To get around this, Republicans fund recalls during off-cycle years knowing far fewer voters participate in these “spot” elections.  And traditionally, the Democrats fail to vote in much larger numbers than Republicans.  So, their minority becomes a majority based on poor turnout.
The unfortunate thing is that should the Republicans succeed, they will have a good chance to also flip the U.S. Senate if an “elderly” Dianne Feinstein is unable to complete her term.  So, a two-fer for a little pocket change (to them)…
Stop this blatant attempt to “buy” the governorship of California.  Vote NO on the recall!!
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On This Day In:
2021	Access Is Good
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	No Recall
2020	Give Me A Minute To Think About That…
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	An Eye For An Eye
2019	Is #45 Warning Alabama Again?
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2018	Worry (x2)
2017	Still Working
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2016	Power Inside
2015	Sometimes I Feel Small
2014	It Slipped Away
2013	Corollary
2012	Working Retired
2011	The Web Is Not Authoritative! (Really?)

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Access Is Good

Democracy is not partisan.  That’s where I begin this conversation.  Who I choose once I’m inside the voting booth is my business.  Ensuring my ability to get inside is the responsibility of government.  I’m a progressive Democrat in part because I want the system to be fair.  We should not be guaranteed victory, but we should be guaranteed access.  Anyone who believes in our democracy should hold that to be a good.
—    Stacey Abrams
Quoted by:  Gilad Edelman
In an interview:  “Stacey Abrams on How We’ll Beat Back Voter Suppression“
Published in:  Wired Magazine
Dtd:  15 September 2020
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On This Day In:
2021	Access Is Good
	The Sun Is Shining
	No Recall
2020	Give Me A Minute To Think About That…
	November 3rd Is Coming!
	An Eye For An Eye
2019	Is #45 Warning Alabama Again?
	Day 11: 49ers Win
2018	Worry (x2)
2017	Still Working
	Gold In The Morning Sun
2016	Power Inside
2015	Sometimes I Feel Small
2014	It Slipped Away
2013	Corollary
2012	Working Retired
2011	The Web Is Not Authoritative! (Really?)

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Why Republicans Are Unhappy

It is necessary to the happiness of a man that he be mentally faithful to himself.  Infidelity does not consist in believing or in disbelieving, it consists in professing to believe what one does not believe.
—     Thomas Paine
[If Republicans believe in Democracy and the right of the people to choose their government’s leaders, why have they spent almost ten months denying the results of (and trying to overturn) an election they lost so decisively?  And why have they spent the same amount of time trying to limit the ability of voters to vote in future elections?  Maybe T. Paine has explained the unhappiness (and rage) of current Republicans.  When will the true political conservatives stand up and challenge the crazies who have taken over their party?  Lord knows, they’ve been wandering in the dessert for over forty years now…    —    kmab]
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On This Day In:
2021	Why Republicans Are Unhappy
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2020	A Tiny And Fragile World
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2019	Day 1: Done
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2018	I Put It Down To Bad Teachers
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2017	And The Future Is Now
2016	I Am
2015	Positively Aiming Higher
2014	Suspicious Minds
2013	We Are Not Alone
2012	Lawyer, n.
2011	Each Day Remember…
2010	Impossible Dreams of Camelot

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A Democratic Republic Should Promote The Majority While Defending The Minority

The simplest truths often meet the sternest resistance and are slowest in getting general acceptance.
—    Frederick Douglass
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2020	In Business And In Politics
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2019	What Is True For War Is Also True For Elections
2018	Start By Trying
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2017	Outlasting Division
2016	Said The Man Who Trained To Fight For A Living
2015	Tripping On Treasure
2014	The Flower Of Light
2013	Eye Catching
2012	The Holstee Manifesto
2011	Three Crooners For The Shower
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Allowing For Compromise

As long as the differences and diversities of mankind exist, democracy must allow for compromise, for accommodation, and for the recognition of differences.
—    Eugene McCarthy
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On This Day In:
2020	Why #LyingDonald Hurts The US
2019	Blow Between Your Ears
2018	Thinking Ahead
2017	I’d Like To Try
2016	Or Blog (And Bound)
2015	Welcome The Virtuous
2014	Closing The Gap?
2013	On Parenting
2012	What Knowledge Is
2011	The Indefinite Accumulation Of Property

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Rational Response

Democracy relies on an informed and engaged public responding in rational ways to the real-life facts and challenges before us.  But a growing number of Americans are untethered from that.  “They’re not on the same epistemological grounding, they’re not living in the same worlds,” says Whitney Phillips, a professor at Syracuse who studies online disinformation.  “You cannot have a functioning democracy when people are not at the very least occupying the same solar system.”
—    Charlotte Alter
From her article:  “Down The Rabbit Hole“
Appearing in:  Time Magazine, dtd:  21/28 September 2020
Also appearing online at:  https://time.com/5887437/conspiracy-theories-2020-election/
Under the title:  “How Conspiracy Theories Are Shaping the 2020 Election—and Shaking the Foundation of American Democracy“
[I am currently a paid subscriber to “Time Magazine“.  This quote appears without permission or authorization.  I do not (and have not) received any compensation for posting this quote from either the author or the magazine.  I am not claiming any ownership of the quote, nor am I promoting the purchase of the magazine.  It’s merely something I read and found interesting – so, I’m passing it along to anyone who reads this blog post.    —  KMAB]
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2018	To Get Strength
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2017	Bricolage Art
2016	Just A Shame
2015	Treasures Of The Mind
2014	Not Quite Exceeded Reach
2013	Who’s Side?
2012	Why I Joined The Army And Not The Navy…
2011	Is It Your Turn Yet?
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I Wish Republicans Valued Democracy As Much As They Say They Value Freedom

A cynic is one who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.
—    Oscar Wilde
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On This Day In:
2021	Are You A Loner?
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2020	I Wish Republicans Valued Democracy As Much As They Say They Value Freedom
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2019	Something Very Different
2018	For Most Of Us
2017	Stories We Need On Life’s Edge
2016	Heart Trouble
2015	From The Inside Out
2014	Alone And Free
2013	Superstition Is Your Way
2012	Escape Hatches
2011	Sing Like No One Is Listening

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An Act Of Faith

In a democracy, dissent is an act of faith.  Like medicine, the test of its value is not in its taste, but in its effects.
—    J. William Fulbright
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On This Day In:
2021	It Doesn’t Rain Forever
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2020	An Act Of Faith
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2019	Fostering Debate
2018	The Births Of Spring
2017	Drug Epidemic In America
2016	Word Up, Chuck!
2015	Sometimes I Wonder About Things
2014	Still Racing
2013	Anew
2012	Make Both
2011	Are You Happy Yet?

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One Lesson In Diversity

One lesson is to have diverse voices at the table, to make sure democracy is retained.  But there are also things that we can’t put price tags on.  Some things are part of our public welfare, and we should not look at a balance book to do them.
—     Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha
(Discussing the poisoning of the Flint, Michigan public water supply.)
As quoted by:  Belinda Luscombe
In her interview titled:  “8 Questions“
Appearing in:  Time Magazine;  dtd:  9 July 2019
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2015	Blink
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2013	On Elections
2012	Warm Smiles
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2011	Straight Shooters

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A Simple Fact

It’s a simple fact that technology has been weaponized by private companies against democracy.  Corporations are not people.  They don’t have souls.  They’re institutions designed to make money.  And the way the government has always dealt with them is to regulate them to the point where they cease being dangerous to the public.
—    Barry C. Lynn
Executive Director
Open Markets Institute
As quoted by:  Romesh Ratnesar
In his article:  “Trust“
Appearing in:  Time Magazine;   dtd:  16 September 2019
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2017	Being Nice
2016	Zero To Some = Most
2015	Born More Obligated
2014	Rage And Fury
2013	Successful Children
2012	For God So Loved The World
2011	Go Cheeseheads!!
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Don’t Mess With The Lady

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced yesterday (5 Dec 2019), that the House is moving forward to draft articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump.  “Our democracy is what is at stake.  The president leaves us no choice but to act.“
As she was leaving the press briefing platform she was asked if she hated President Donald Trump.   Pelosi turned and pointed at the reporter asking the question and said:  “I don’t hate anybody.  We don’t hate anybody.  Not anybody in the world.  Don’t accuse me.“
She returned to the podium to continue:  “I think the president is a coward when it comes to helping our kids who are afraid of gun violence.  I think he is cruel when he doesn’t deal with helping our dreamers.  I think he’s in denial about the climate crisis.“
Impeachment, she emphasized, was about protecting the “Constitution of the United States,” rather than about policy disagreements or dislike of the president which could wait for the election.
“As a Catholic, I resent your using the word hate in a sentence that addresses me.  I don’t hate anyone.“
Speaker Pelosi continued, saying she prayed for the president, and, in fact did so every day.
As she turned to leave the stage she concluded:  “So don’t mess with me when it comes to words like that.“
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2020	Why I Used To Jog At Dawn
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2019	The Most Pressing Task
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2018	Seek A Clear View
2017	Living With Myself
2016	Still Looking In Mirrors?
2015	Fear No Evil
2014	And Nothing Can Be As Tragic As…
2013	Your Tax Dollars At Work
2012	Historically Unacceptable
2011	Niners Are NFC West Division Champions!!
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